Houston Media Source

Houston Media Source (HMS) found its niche in Houston, Texas in 1986 amid a field of media outlets, and now celebrates over thirty-six (36) years of service to the community. HMS is Houston’s only free media arts resource for individual and group artistic expression and access to the mass media. Remaining true to its mission to serve the public’s information needs and to promote community dialogue, HMS schedules over eight thousand five hundred educational, political, inspirational, and community shows each year. By providing ordinary citizens invaluable media tools, such as access to video, audio, and post-production equipment, multimedia instruction, and the cable channel, HMS allows all Houstonians a chance not only to be heard, but to teach themselves how to be heard and how to express their individual art. Local cable companies, in agreement with the City of Houston, provide the channel space and local citizens provide the programming. The result: HMS-TV. Amateur media producers from all walks of life bring a variety of opinions to the channel from social, cultural, political, and inspirational issues to music, dance, theater, visual arts, and entertainment. Special projects address the needs of youth population and vision impaired; an unprecedented access project includes signing and captioning for hard of hearing audiences. The resulting programs reflect the diversity of the Houston community-at-large. HMS also extends its outreach arms to bring new audiences to the channel through numerous partnerships with community-based organizations. Communities across the country turn to their local media access organizations to fill the void of ‘local voices’. Houston Media Source is certainly up to the task. You, too, can learn how to use media tools and make your own voice heard!